Well, if it is any consolation - they are ahead of the Bulls - so the rankings are not entirely clueless... The idea that the entire schedule will even out eventually (even if it was true, which it is not because different teams in different conferences do not play the same teams the same amount of times) misses the point of a ranking. Saying that the schedule will even out at the end for the ranking to be right misses the point - when the season ends out - we do not need the ranking - we have the final standing to tell us how it ended. Just my $0.02...
http://dabullz.com/2008/11/21/dabullzcom-power-rankings-11-21-08/ So basically we are predicting: Eastern Conference First Round: 1. Boston over 8. Miami 4. Detroit over 5. Atlanta 3. Orlando over 6. Toronto 2. Cleveland over 7. New York Second Round: 1. Boston over 2. Detroit 2. Cleveland over 3. Orlando Conference Finals: 1. Boston over 2. Cleveland Western Conference: 1. LA Lakers over 8. San Antonio Spurs 5. Phoenix Suns over 4. Houston Rockets 3. Denver Nuggets over 6. Portland Trailblazers 2. Utah Jazz over 7. New Orleans Hornets Second Round: 1. LA Lakers over 5. Phoenix Suns 2. Utah Jazz over 3. Denver Nuggets Conference Finals: 1. LA Lakers over 2. Utah Jazz NBA Finals: 1. LA Lakers over 1. Boston Celtics
http://dabullz.com/2008/11/22/dabullz-power-rankings-11-22-08/ Celtics gaining ground, but the Lakers still with a formidable 4+ point lead.
It doesn't help that the Lakers never lose, and win by decent margins. It looks like the Celtics will surpass the Lakers defensively soon. That is where Boston has been gaining most of their ground on the Lakers.
To the Hornets credit, Peja, a key cog to that team, hasn't been himself. He has shot the ball horribly and hasn't been the reliable 2nd/3rd option he was last year. If I'm correct, he's also dealing with some type of injury too. Give them some time and I think they'll find their rhythm. It's still early in the season, so I'm not going to bail on them quite yet.
Posey hasn't helped them that much either. And we aren't missing him, which was the best deal that we let him go.
Peja dealing with an injury is about as predictable as T-Mac dealing with an injury. Their offensive rebounding seems to be way down. Chandler and West have both dropped quite a bit in that area. It's early, though.
http://dabullz.com/2008/11/23/dabullzcom-power-rankings-11-23-08/ Big questions of our day. Will the Lakers keep the #1 spot for the entire month of November, or can Boston catch them? Can Cleveland retake the top Eastern conference spot from Boston? Will Detroit continue to slide down past some Western teams? Will the Nets keep their slim lead over the Knicks?
